Link edition: April 5, 2010

OMG Department: Talk about an unsettling post title: I Destroyed My Genealogy Database Tonight. And the author is Dick Eastman! The Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter Guy! Full of trepidation, I clicked through. Yes, Mr. Eastman did indeed fry his database. But being Mr. Eastman, he has a multilayered backup setup that had him completely covered, and besides, this wasn’t even his primary computer. You can never read too many happy-ending backup stories. Excuse me while I go off to make a backup now.

Legend or Family Fact?: Another eye-catching title is “Did Great-Grandpa Ride With an Outlaw Gang?” Here, a Texas newspaper genealogy columnist gives a succinct primer on Dealing With Family Legends 101. Good basic tips on where to start in the effort to untangle fact from fiction. And may I say how cool is that, having a genealogy column in a local paper.

Open-Source, Genealogy-Style: An often-asked question by genealogy beginners is “What software program should I use?” For those interested in an alternative to the Family Tree Makers and Reunions of the world, check out this article on Gramps, an open-source application that runs on Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. Interesting.

Trains of Thought: Railroads? Genealogy? How about railroads AND genealogy? Somehow I think there will be takers. If you are in northern New Jersey and you think this is your niche, check out the Railroads and Roundtable session this Saturday, April 10, sponsored by the Hudson County Genealogical Society. The morning-long agenda features a presentation on “The Railroad Wars of Hudson County,” followed by “Who Do You Think You’re Looking For?”, a roundtable discussion in which attendees are free to bring up any genealogy questions, answers, tips or strategies they’d like to share.